The Mobile Master

Meet a Visa employee who outsmarts fraudsters on mobile and beyond.

As a senior director on Visa’s Authentication and Risk team, Christian has to act like a bit of a clairvoyant, predicting what fraudsters could attempt in the future and always staying leaps ahead of them. “In 2007, we realized you could use the phone itself to authenticate rather than having to use your pin or signature,” he remembers. The invention developed two years later would be the predecessor to one of the most secure ways to pay today. “Our goal was to use EMV for contactless as soon as it came to the U.S.,” he says. “That shows that you can start in an environment where the infrastructure doesn’t allow you to do a whole lot, you do the best you can, and then you have a path to a more secure solution.”

With nearly 15 years at Visa under his belt, Christian has led innovations on a variety of payment forms, from magstripe to mobile. What makes Visa a great place for innovation? “Because we are so far-reaching, we have such a profound impact on the way things work. That means that every time a new technology is introduced or something happens in the payment industry or outside the payment industry somebody will come and ask Visa.”

When not laser-focused on keeping payment fraud at bay, the Denmark native travels around his adopted home of Northern California in search of hot springs and good wine. “My wife and I love to go up to Indian Springs in Calistoga and nearby Vincent Arroyo Winery. The Winemakers Reserve is the best.”